Time-out
by starbrightnights
Summary: Caitlin is so scared of what her new abilities could mean, that she's locked herself away. Harry isn't going to let her give up that easily. Snowells friendship that alludes to something more. One-shot. Contains minor spoilers for 3.04 and 3.05.


**A/N: This is me really hoping that Harry (as well as Jesse, although she's not in this) comes back at some point, because as much as I'm sure I'll love this new incarnation of Harrison Wells that we're getting, I think my little Snowells shipping heart will always want Caitlin with Earth-2 Harry. I love his grouchiness and his sass and his sarcasm, and the good heart that lies beneath all that.**

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"Snow."

Caitlin, who had been lying on her back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling in deep thought, jumped like she'd just been shot at. "Jesus! Harry..."

Harry at least had the good grace to look contrite, but Caitlin didn't notice. She pushed herself up to sitting, but couldn't quite bring herself to look at him, her knees hugged to her chest, chin pressed against them. "Which one are you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, I think I know, because it's only really you who calls me 'Snow', but I'm not really sure about anything, anymore," she sighed, a slight tremble in her tired, almost monotone voice.

"Ah, you mean the other Wells, the one in the ridiculous hat."

Caitlin gave a barely imperceptible smirk, but her gaze was still away from him. "I think it looks good. He's funny."

"Oh, well, I'll just get Hatman instead then, shall I? Since you seem to be so fond of him." It was meant to be lighthearted, but Caitlin didn't say anything in response, and instead just picked at the laces of her sneaker with a slight frown marring her features.

Harry sighed and walked the rest of the way up to the cell door before sitting down with his back against the wall, legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. He stared through the glass, trying to make Caitlin look at him. "You know, the last time I saw someone put themselves in time-out, it was my daughter, when she was three. And _she_ hadn't done anything wrong, either."

"Harry..." she shook her head. " _Don't_."

"Why have you put yourself in the pipeline? Why did you insist Cisco lock you in?"

"Please, just go away," Caitlin pleaded, her quiet voice still trembling.

"Sorry, can't. Barry came through the breach to get me because he said you needed help, so here I am."

Caitlin did look at him, then, peering up at him through blurry eyes, and Harry bulked slightly at how exhausted she looked. She shifted a little, more out of awkwardness than physical discomfort. "How much do you know?"

"As much as the others do. That they only found out because your mother..." Harry pursed his lips angrily, but tried not to let it show in his voice. "She had no right to treat you like that."

A tear ran down Caitlin's cheek, and she swiped it harshly. "She made me feel like I was in a side-show. My own mother." She laughed, bitterly. "I was stupid to think she'd actually put me before her work."

Harry leaned his head against the glass. "Her loss. So, again - what are you doing down here?"

"Um, because I'm dangerous?"

He furrowed his brow. "You don't sound so convinced by that. Dangerous how?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, now irritated. "Don't play dumb, Harrison."

"Never. But I do think you're overreacting."

Caitlin blinked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You saw what she could do!"

"Saw what who could do?"

"Killer Frost!" she shouted, exasperated.

Harry nodded. "Right, except... You're not her."

"Yes, I am!"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Caitlin stared at him as if his brain had melted and was now dripping out of his ears. It quickly morphed into a look of devastation, and Harry exhaled loudly, knowing he had to tread a bit more carefully.

"Caitlin, you're not her. Just like Cisco isn't Reverb."

"Don't you get it? I could _kill_ , someone. I don't know how to control it, and it's only getting worse." She didn't get what he wasn't understanding about this.

"And again: You. Are. Not. Her. Look at me. _Caitlin_." She did, and something in her eyes made his breath catch in his throat. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice. "You've got all of us, and we will help you. Just because Killer Frost used her powers for evil, it doesn't mean that you're the same. It's not the powers that are bad, it's the people behind them, whether they've always been that way, or whether they were drawn to it because life had dealt them a tough deal. Barry could just as easily kill someone with his speed, but he doesn't. Anyone can kill, whether they're a Meta or not. You might be similar to her in many ways, but in many others, you're not. How your mother is, how deeply you've felt loss - they don't have to be a catalyst for evil. Your powers can be used for good. I'll help you with that. It's the least I can do, after you helped me with Jesse."

Caitlin's lower lip wobbled, and she fought desperately to control herself, but her valiant attempt was quickly thwarted when a sob unexpectedly pushed its way up her throat.

Harry, who wasn't very good when it came to people crying in front of him, pressed his hand against the glass. "Hey," he said, as gently as possible. "It'll be ok."

She shook her head fiercely. "No, it won't. Pretty soon I won't even be able to touch anyone. I'll never again be able to..." Caitlin broke completely, then, and Harry realised that, actually, _this_ was the crux of the problem. He imagined never being able to hug his daughter again, and the thought terrified him, and here Caitlin was, about to experience that for real.

"No. Listen to me - I will not let that happen, you hear? We'll find a way - all of us. We won't stop until we do."

"I'm scared, Harry."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. "I know. I can't pretend to understand how you feel, but I know a little about being scared, and I know how grateful I was to you all for sticking by me, for helping me, even when I was being insufferable. We're all here for you, Caitlin - we're not going to let you lock yourself away when you have absolutely no reason to."

Caitlin wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't bring herself to believe it. However, she was lonely, and perhaps locking herself away hadn't been a good idea in that respect. But it didn't do much to alleviate her fears. "What if I hurt someone by accident while we're trying to find a way to control it?"

"We'll take the necessary precautions. So, does that mean I can let you out?"

Caitlin stared at him a moment, before shaking her head. "I'm not sure..."

"What's the one thing you want? At this very moment in time, what's the one thing you want more than anything?"

"I..." Caitlin flushed a little and looked away from him. "I really want a hug."

Harry's mouth opened soundlessly. Something stirred in the pit of his stomach, and made his chest a little tight, but she looked so small, sitting there wrapped around herself, lost and afraid, and her request was so simple, the most basic of human needs, which also happened to be one of the most powerful ones, that he couldn't deny her. He nodded, before getting up off the floor and making his way to the control panel. He tapped the screen, and the door to the cell slid open. He moved back toward it, and held out his hand to help her up.

Caitlin stared at it uncertainly for a moment, unable to bring herself to move, let alone touch him, despite her request.

"It's ok," he encouraged, smiling softly at her.

She looked up at him, and whatever she saw in his eyes had her nodding and reaching out to him. She stopped just short of touching him, just for a second, before taking a deep breath and sliding her hand into his, watching for a reaction from him as she did.

All she got was his unfaltering smile. "Well?"

"A little cool, but nothing terrible. Just like you've been standing outside in the cold without your gloves on." Harry helped her up, and watched as she hesitated for a brief moment before wrapping her arms around him. She shuddered, and he pulled her closer, holding her tight to warm her up, to comfort her, to give her everything she needed to let her know that he wouldn't give up on her, that he'd help find a way to control the change she was going through.

Caitlin sniffed, the feel of being held in someone's arms refilling her eyes with tears. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she lost this. People took so many things for granted, things that could be taken away in the blink of an eye. Simple things that were so precious and priceless - she'd never take them for granted ever again. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" His voice was low and quiet, and it rumbled through Caitlin comfortingly.

"Thank you. I'm glad Barry went to you."

"You're welcome." He paused. "I'm surprised he didn't ask 'Hatman' to talk to you."

Caitlin snorted against his shoulder. "Stop calling him that, he's a nice guy. But, I don't really know him. I know _you_. Well, a lot more than I know him, anyway. And besides - you know as well as anyone in this building that doppelgängers aren't necessarily like their counterparts - isn't that what you've just been telling me? I wouldn't have been able to talk to him instead of you, simply because he's _not_ you." She lifted her head and looked at him, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. "Are you sure we can fix this?" she whispered.

Harry hated seeing Caitlin so vulnerable. He knew she was strong, he just had to get her to realise it, too. "We'll try our very best. I'm not saying it'll be easy, or that it won't take some time. There are things we can do to help in the interim - protective gloves, for one. I know it's not the same, but at least you'll be able to do this without worrying about hurting anyone, until we can figure out something else. You're stronger than you know, Caitlin Snow. Everything you've been through, and you're still here, fighting."

She shook her head. "I don't feel it."

"Not feeling it doesn't mean that you aren't. Trust me. When..." Harry trailed off, uncertain as to whether he wanted to continue. He took a deep breath. "When my wife died, at first, I didn't think I'd be able to carry on. I carried all this guilt, I kept going over all these "What-ifs" in my head. But my daughter needed me, so I had no choice but to pick myself up and carry on, for her. That was me being strong for her, even if I didn't realise it at the time. But you - when you lost your husband, the only person you had to be strong for was yourself, so you could have very easily spiralled downwards, despite the support of your friends. You didn't. And then with... _him_ , everything he put you through, and you're still here, fighting. It would be very easy to let all that get on top of you, to let what's happening to you now be the thing that finally pushes you over the edge, but I don't think you will. I almost did - even having Jesse, I still had this weight on my shoulders with what had happened with the particle accelerator, and everything it caused afterwards. I had to try my best to fix that, as much as I could. And what helped me was knowing all of you. Yeah, I was grumpy and a jerk at times, but you all helped me get through it, made me a better person, and it made me face up to what I'd done, realise the things I had to do.

So, if you have anything to worry about, it's your friends making you into a better person than you already are." Harry reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks, only realising what he was doing when Caitlin caught his hand in hers.

"Thank you," she said, squeezing his hand and giving him a watery smile, "for believing in me."

"Anytime, Snow." Harry smiled back at her, but then something caught his eye. He frowned a little and pushed some of Caitlin's hair over her shoulder before reaching out and carefully taking hold of a lock of hair from behind her ear. He stared down at the shock of white-blonde that now sat against his fingers.

"What is it?" Caitlin struggled to see, but when she did, she gasped. "Oh, no." Her voice trembled again. "I don't even want to _look_ like her."

Harry ran his thumb over the soft curl, his brows drawn together in thought. "You don't have to. You can easily change the colour of your hair. The physical changes you can deal with - it's the internal ones we need to work on."

Caitlin rubbed a hand across her forehead. "I feel a little stupid now," she admitted, her eyes darting away from his self-consciously and resting on the curve of his shoulder.

"You're not stupid. Scared, yes, understandably, but not stupid. _Never_ stupid, Snow."

A little shiver of something undefinable ran through her as he regarded her with serious eyes. Maybe it was his voice, low and husky, and the way he'd said her name. She couldn't be sure, but it definitely didn't have anything to do with the chill that was running through her. Caitlin wanted to press her cool hands against her burning cheeks, but she seemed currently incapable of movement. All she knew, was that if she hadn't been sure if she'd completely trusted him before, now she definitely did.

"I'm going to have to go back home," he continued, "I have responsibilities there, and I need to see what else I can find out about Frost, but I'll keep popping back so we can work together, as long as I need to. And if you really need me when I'm not here, just send Barry."

"And what about after, once you no longer need to?" The words had left her mouth before she'd even had time to think about them. She couldn't take them back. She just hoped the poker face she'd quickly adopted was enough to fool him.

Harry squeezed her hand, his eyes glinting at her as the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "I'm sure I'll find another reason."

Caitlin returned his smile, feeling calmer and more hopeful than she had in a long while. "Good."


End file.
